Apple selling more Plus models than ever

Apple's financial results, which will be released tomorrow, show that in Q4 2016 Apple has sold more iPhone 7 Plus units than any of the preceding Plus models in previous years. The Plus model has a larger screen, more RAM and a bigger battery than its standard counterpart but we'd suspect the iPhone 7 Plus dual-camera with its 2x optical zoom factor and portrait mode has a lot to do with consumers increasingly opting for the more expensive iPhone variant. Overall 24 million iPhone 7 Plus units have been sold which is a 55% increase compared to the 15.5 million iPhone 6s Plus in Q4 2016. This represents 40% of all iPhone 7 sales.

This is also the first time that users in China bought more Plus devices than standard iPhones. 52% of iPhone buyers opted for the dual-camera model. With the previous iPhone 6s generation only 40% decided to go with the larger version.

Despite good news for the iPhone 7 Plus, overall the iPhone has been struggling in the fourth quarter of 2016. According to analysts Cowen & Co, the Apple results show that consumers are less willing to upgrade their device than before and rumors about a 10 year anniversary iPhone model in 2017 made some users skip the 2016 model. Like all mobile manufacturers, Apple is under constant pressure to innovate. At least in terms of imaging the 7 Plus dual-cam looked like a step into the right directions. Let's hope Apple can follow up on it 2017.

Just sold my iPhone 7 plus and got the Huawei Mate 9 which was better for me at a cheaper cost (599) and I get more ... SD card slot, head phone jack, longer battery life, duel sims, 5.9" screen, 4gb ram, fingerprint reader is in a better spot for me, super fast charging, just as fast as the iP7, screen looks just as good maybe better and camera looks very good to me but I didn't buy it for the camera and there is many other reasons. so long Apple!

Um, we all are getting older. We started with 1x3 inch screens (just like we had on digital watches and I had 20-20 vision) in late 90's, since we had good eyesight in those days. Now in my 40's Samsung Note 4 is still one I use, without glasses...Also you put more apps on the screen.

love my iPhone7 plus, it is a dang good camera and I can see why Canikon and others are struggling. Photography for the masses have moved away from them forever just like how music playback moved away from the traditional hifi companies.

I was planning to keep my 6 Plus one more year and upgrade with the 8. But the 6 Plus needed repair and rather than fix it opted to get the 7 Plus, simply because of the camera. I don't use the Portrait Mode much but when I do I love it and am stunned at how well it works, particularly in its 9 separate gradated DOF zones that provide a true roll-off of focus.

Remember to use DPR's trick when you want to use the 2x camera in lower light: Use Portrait Mode to force the phone to use its 2x 2.8 camera instead of Apple's lower light default of using its 1x 1.8 camera with a 2x digital (gasp) zoom. Alternatively, the Camera+ app has a 2x option that only uses the 2x 2.8 camera no matter what the light levels.

The camera isnt the thing. The so called "portrait" camera is not of much use, at least in the way that it has been implemented there. At least one more generation will be needed for it to be a real differentiator.

The real thing IMO is that people are using their devices more and more time, so the battery life and screen size come into play.

Also if you use the "plus" size for a while, you get used to them real quick. And then there is no going back to the smaller ones. That is basically down to Apple's making them so thin. They are the most palmable phablets of all time.

That said, in contrast, the smaller size iphone could have withstood more thickness, and thus gained battery life....

Although the increased battery life was a big (no pun intended) plus and I prefer the larger form factor now, the camera element was the single biggest selling point when I upgraded. If it hadnt been that, I would would have stuck with the smaller model. I've had the phone for a couple of months now and based on that, if I had to name my favourite feature it's that.

I'm not going to make any claims about being representative of the average customer but a couple of friends manage (UK) phone stores and both have said that the camera has been a notable influence in sales of the Plus.

Very much agree with the point about getting used to the larger size and the thought of going back to a smaller model.

I carry a 7+ in my shirt pocket. I never leave home without it. I consider a cell phone to be a life insurance policy. The big size makes it easy to read mail and maps. Camera is very nice, pics migrate to my iPad, and easy to mail. Lots of good apps. I often carry a messenger bag which holds the iPad and my LUMIX zs100. Life is good. My wife hates big phones and likes her 6SE which also a decent camera. After retiring from USAF, I worked as a software engineer at Boeing, 13 years on the B-1B bomber and 11 years on the F-22 fighter. My 7+ has a gazillion times the compute power of the B-1B, when I worked on it the 80s.

I used to be a small phone guy, but my wife got a 6S.... I got a 5.5" Asus and I can't look back. The real estate is amazing. I think Apple users were so conditioned to the tiny phones they never got to see how good a bigger phone could be.

I'm still using a "small" phone (iPhone 6), and while I am very tempted to go with a larger screen on my next refresh, every time I walk by an iPhone 7 Plus, Pixel XL, Samsung __, etc, the first test for me is how it fits in the front pocket of my pants...which isn't very well...and I never get past that. Maybe it's time for bigger pants...

I've received my first ever Apple product, an iPhone 7 from my company, recently, but I started using it quite reluctantly, since I have an excellent Samsung Note Edge with the great S-Pen. This weekend I wanted to use my Samsung to record a video in 4K, but it wasn't able to record longer 4K videos than two minutes because of overheating. I thought, let's give a try to the iPhone 7; and it worked brilliantly. It records only 50 Mbps 4K, but I was blown away both with the image and the audio quality. I was sold on Apple. The iMovie is simple but excellent mobile video editor; Android phones have not a single half-decent video editor; the multi-billionaire Samsung was not able to make any video editor at all. The entire Apple infrastructure and product line is cohesive and extensive. I guess, I'll never buy Android again after the great experience with iPhone 7. Being a Sony fan, my plan was to buy an A6500, but after this iPhone experience, I decided to postpone all my gear purchases.

I have the 6S and did a test to see how long of a 4K video clip I could record and it was well over an hour before I stopped it. It barely even got warm and the quality was very good (bright day). I'm hoping the next iPhone will have 4K 60 fps and with a higher bitrate. My A5100 would rarely get used then, for video at least.

I'm the opposite, i had iphone 3, 3s, 4, 4s, then went Samsung S5. Now im on the LeEco Pro3 (China Phone). Great performance for a fraction of the cost. So far the experience has been great. $250 is my new benchmark, so Samsung or Apple need to have something around that price bracket for me to consider them again.

It can do 90% of what apple and samsung flagships can do.

The 4k on it blows my Canon M and M3 for IQ and usability. Low light and ergonomics is my only negative with Camera phones.

You should take a look at the Galaxy S7/S7 edge before discounting android. You'd be surprised at how well they do.

There's also a video editor on all recent samsungs, named "video editor" in the preinstalled apps. I have a feeling iMovie is a better video editor though, as apple seems to have a more polished ecosystem overall. Android often feels disjointed and clunky, even on the newest products. It does not seem like google, Samsung or any of the other manufacturers are interested in seriously addressing that issue.

The quality of all these new phones make it so I rarely use my cameras for video now, unless I need specific focal lengths or do low light.

If I want video centric use, I'll just get a proper video cam, cheap & small these days. Besides, there are many brands & models other than apple & samsung, not sure why people restrict themselves only to apple ,if not a samsung. *shrug*

It's the most poverful iphone ever, best camera ever, we sell more than ever... One does not need PhD degree that any epsilon improvent over previous generation makes it " best... ever". BTW, dpreview has become more smartphone forum than ever.

And rightfully so. The 7 plus is a wonderful device. With the Apple leather case it is just shy of usable with one hand. I didn't expect getting used to the size so quickly. My old 6 felt tiny after 1 week.

It's a little pricey to upgrade if you're paying for yourself. I am fortunate because my employer pays for mine. I still don't understand the lack of a lower capacity memory option than 128 GB. They go from 32 GB directly up to 128 GB. I don't really need anything more than 64 GB so if I'm paying quite a bit more for that extra memory, it's just a waste. I still prefer an expansion slot for a microSD card.

this was decided from above and the apologist devoted to applethink submitted this new paradigm like jonestown koolaid drinkers from below

the bizarre cult of personality to a corporation, a new low point in crowd behavior for the humanity is demeaning in every way. & troubles me as many things do as the the mental health of the humanity nosedives especially america of recent years.ill use my axon7 a better phone in every metricspeakersbattery quality of headphones ,,,looks cost resistance to bending screen 349 usd 64gb with a 40 dollar 200 gb sdxc ....ill use until it gets superseded by any device,from any manufacturer with a fairly price upgrade from any ecosystem , ill be able to do this because im committed to getting value for money and good design and not a religion and I demand modicum of freedom when using my propertyso......".you want a dongle"

i understood and respect your decision which was done for a very logical reason under those circumstances , id use an iphone too..... for all my griping apple products just work and welli just hate the mythos devotion and poor value is all

@Cosinaphile. You're the one talking about religion - you seem to be on an anti-Apple crusade. My own position: I don't give a rat's *rse over the headphone jack - I've used Bluetooth sets for a couple of years in any case and the extra protection from liquid ingress seems like a bonus. But expandable memory? Yeah - give me some of that. Apple are rip-off merchants when it comes to their memory pricing and the omission of the 64Gb model this time was a very deliberate ploy to make those [like myself] who were on 64 before go bigger. They're greedy b*ggers, but hey - welcome to GlobaCorp.

Its a blessing in disguise. No headphone jack pushed me to bluetooth wireless headphones. The SQ has come along way, i don't miss the 3.5 mm jack and will probably never buy wired headphones again as BT headphones are improving all the time.

64MB is good enough for me, it has taught me to clear the clutter on my phone. Backup the photos and videos. I don't need to keep 5 years of photos on the phone. My cloud backups are also easier with less data to sync.

Flagship phones are coming with fixed memory, less openings and no removeable battery whether we like it or not. They are consumable items that have a shelf life. People upgrade and discard old models. The younger gen see it this way as well.

"Apple's financial results, which will be released tomorrow, show that in Q4 2016..."

The opening sentence in this article is a lie.

You have not seen Apple's financial results. Neither has 9to5 Mac, the source you cite for this information. In the 9to5 Mac article, words like "apparently" and "if the estimates are accurate" are used. They know the difference between speculation and facts.

There is an obvious trend to go big or go home. Most phones I see today are ~5.5" and that's as big as the original Note phablet (remember how weirdly huge that was back then?)

If you prefer smaller phones <5" (one hand use anybody?) you're so out of luck - even when you find them (xa, a3 2017, etc) they are actually lower grade or at best midrange phones, nowhere near the flagships. Oh well...

Some of my Apple friends finally gave up on saying 5.5" is 'too big, cumbersome etc' and are in love with big screen (and the camera, of course). I think Apple was silly insisting on 'small is good' while everyone moved on. Good for them as now they can catch up with the screen resolution (LG4 screen is much better IMO, which is much older device). IPhone 7+ screen appears to be the same as used in LG G Pro (2013)... Like the iPhone 7+ cameras, though..

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